Jafs, send your sons over there to fight if you think the US has to go to war every time a child in a foreign country gets killed. We can not defend 50 billion people from other countries. The only condition for intervention is if they invade the United States on our soil and it's our kids being killed.

Yours is a consistent and to some degree attractive position, but I find it a little bit unsatisfying. It's analogous to a martial arts expert standing by and doing nothing while a gang beats up some guy.

Were you then opposed to the Iraq wars, both of them, and many other wars we've fought in, that have happened without direct attacks on our country? Vietnam, Korea, etc.

I generally don't like many of the reasons we get involved militarily, and would greatly decrease them, perhaps to self defense and defense of innocents.

We had no business drawing a red line in the first place. We need to quit threatening other countries. Let them fight their own battles. What would the United States be like today if Russia had interfered with our fight with the British, or war between the North and the South to end slavery? You might be speaking a different language now.

Between my dear departed father, me and my youngest son we have served in six wars from 1944 to the present. That represents 51 years of combined service. We signed up and stayed because that is what we did, we were and are Regulars on active service. Having said all that, it is time to stop intervening in every dark hole in the world. The scenario in Syria is a complete disaster. Let us not forget that Russia is an ally of Syria and so is Iran. We intervene, we will be at war in the Middle East long enough for my grandsons to serve and fight. I do not want that.

Absolutely not. We have boxed ourselves - both parties - into this notion of red lines. We have become addicted to low-cost surgical strikes that solve nothing and only move us further toward sloppy, expensive missions. The civil war is just that: a civil war. We shouldn't be in the business of involving ourselves in civil wars. If the conflict spreads outside the borders and into strategically important areas then we should evaluate policy but until then, no.

No, no, and more no. It's a shame Obama has painted himself into a corner with his talk of a red line. I imagine he feels obligated to act now that he's made that threat. It's a real mess, but we shouldn't be making it our mess, especially with Russia backing the other side.